Of course, being that Melendez *was* able to reach an agreement with the UFC after calling their bluff, it comes as something of a surprise that former lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz is now asking to be released from his contract. But that’s what happened yesterday, unless Diaz’s Twitter was somehow hacked. Diaz sent out the above tweet last night, stating “It’s time for me to be on my way…?” This of course, can only mean one of four things:

-Nate finally landed that aerospace engineering gig at NASA

-Realizing that Melendez is destined to be the lightweight champion, Nate has decided to step back and devote himself full time to training/coaching his buddy to greatness

-Like Melendez before him, Diaz is attempting to up his value in the UFC by threatening to jump ship.

Personally, I’m going with option 4 as the most likely scenario (hence his use of the question mark at the end of his statement), in which case, all the power to Diaz. His listed salary for his last fight was a measly $15,000 to show, and while it’s obvious that Diaz is making more than that in undisclosed bonuses, there’s no denying that a former title challenger and TUF winner (you know, when that actually meant something) deserves a much higher base rate to get his head smashed in than that.

Hell, I honestly believe that the minimum show rate for any UFC fighter should be $50,000 per fight, no matter how many G5′s the UFC’s head honchos are forced to pay off in installments instead of one down payment because of it. So take to the streets in protest, Nate! THE POTATO NATION HAS YOUR BACK!!

As of this write-up, the UFC has offered no response to Diaz’s request, but expect Dana White to publicly rake Diaz over the coals for being “a f*cking dummy who I’ve already made a millionaire” any second now.